"There are many opinions about this jiva who accepted different moving and non moving bodies. One is the theory that there is one ignorance and one jiva." "But then if one jiva becomes liberated from one ignorance, all should become liberated. And if ignorance were variously distributed in various parts of the one jiva (to give the appearanace of many jivas), then because some parts would remain in ignorance in the world, there would be no liberation. Therefore there must be many jivas." "But if the jivas are very small in size, they could not pervade the whole body." "If it were medium sized, then it could spread throughout the body, but then it would not be eternal. Therefore the jivas should be all pervading or big and also eternal, without birth. Then there would no be fault ascribed above (the jiva being covered by maya), because of the impossibility of bondage or liberation by part of avidya or part of its sakti for such jivas." The srutis then explain in this verse that others do not accept this philosophy. "If the jivas (tanubhrta) are unlimited in number (aparimita) and eternal (dhruva), not generated by you, and are all pervading, then, being equal to you, the scriptures would not say that they are under your control. O Lord of eternal form (dhruva), in the opposite condition, this would not be so (na itaratha); that is, if they were generated from you, then they would not be all pervading, and thus would be under your control. How is this? Though coming into existence as an effect of brahman, Brahman would be their controller, not rejecting them because he is their source. What is this Brahman? He is similar to all jivas in his expansion as paramatma. If someone asks what is known by the word "tat" (paramatma), someone answers "it is this," but, for those who want to know (anujanatam), it is almost not known (amatam), because the Vedas state that there is fault in that knowledge (mata dustataya)." The srutis say this. Yasyamatam tasya matam matam yasya na veda sah Avijnatam vijanatam vijnatam avijanatam The person who thinks he cannot know brahman completely can know brahman. He who thinks he knows brahman completely do not know brahman. For those who think they know brahman, brahman cannot be realized. For those who understand that they cannot know brahman completely, brahman can be realized. Kena Upanisad 2.3 (Avacanenaiva provaceti sa ha tusnim babhuva By not speaking he spoke. He then became silent. I could not find these phrases in any of the major upanisads or Vedas, brahmanas etc. sa ha tusnim asa occurs in chandogya upanisad but without the first phrase. Perhaps this is some altnerative version of the kena upanisad since the previous and following verses are both from there.??????) Yadi manyase suvediti dabhram evapi nunam tvam vetha brahmano rupam yad asya tvam yad asya devesu atha nu mimasyam eva te O student, if you think you know brahman well, then you know minutely the qualities of brahman. Therefore, since you know very little, you should now inquire into the brahman which is in you and in the devatas. Kena upanisad 2.1

Some śrutis decide that they want to define the jīva in order to show that they should have bhakti for the Lord. Some say that there is only one conscious entity spread everywhere which becomes unlimited jīvas by upādhis of prominent rajas and tamas arising from avidyā (ignorance). By predominance of sattva-guṇa that consciousness becomes the Supreme Lord. Others say that jīvas arise when pure consciousness takes shelter of avidyā. By rejecting that position others say that the jīvas are by their nature perfect, infinite, eternal and full of power like the Lord. Previously deciding to defeat the idea that the jīva is independently perfect, accepting the unlimited and eternal nature as a possible condition of the jīva by using the word “if”, the śrutis then refute this hypothesis. O shelter of everything (dhruva)! If the jīvas were unlimited and eternal, and consequently all-pervading (meaning powerful), the jīvas would not be under your control as defined in the scriptures, since your power would not extend to them. And if they are not all powerful, then one cannot say that definition did not apply to them, since your power would extend to them. No object is independent of you. By your knowledge, all beings become empowered with knowledge. It is also said that all jīvas arise from you. Thus they are under your control by the extension of your powers. The effects such as a spark arising from fire cannot be separated from fire. Spreading over the whole object by a portion of its śakti or a portion of its svarūpa, the fire becomes the controller. In its absence the spark would not have qualities of fire. Those who say that you are like other objects and accept that as knowledge do not know your form as antaryāmī. Such opinions reject the knowledge given in the śrutis (duṣṭatayā). Like the sun and its rays and particles of light, from you the tataṣṭha-śakti arises in the form of small particles. By the special power of the object, the jīvas then give life to their bodies like magnets, in the manner of guṇād vā: the ātmā pervades the body like light. (Brahma-sūtra 2.3.24) Mahān aja ātmā: the ātmā is unborn and great. (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad) Mahā means “having consciousness” in the context. The ātmā spreads its influence just as a great gem spreads its influence. In this way, it is concluded that the jīva is subject to control. The jīva is a servant and bhakti is proven as previously and later. yathā prakāśayaty ekaḥ kṛtsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ kṣetraṁ kṣetrī tathā kṛtsnaṁ prakāśayati bhārata Just as one sun lights up the whole world, this ātmā illuminates the whole body, O descendent of Bharata. BG 13.34 Kṛṣṇa speaks to Uddhava, indicating his unlimited greatness and the jīvas smallness. Mahatāṁ ca mahān aham sūkṣmāṇām apy ahaṁ jīvaḥ: among great things I am the total material creation; among subtle things I am the jīva. SB 11.16.11 bālāgra-śataśo bhāgaḥ kalpito yaḥ sahasra-dhā tasyāpi śataśo bhāgo jīva ity abhidhīyate If a tip of hair is divided into hundred piees and then each into a thousand, and then each piece is again divided into a hundred, that is the size of the jīva. Viṣṇu -dharmottara Śruti says: bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya śatadhā kalpitasya ca bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijṣeyaḥ sa cānantyāya kalpate When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad Eko devaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ: the one Lord is hidden in all jīvas. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad na tat-samas abhyadhikaś ca dṛśyate: the Lord has no equal or superior. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad One should see the details in the Paramātmā and Bhagavat Sandarbhas.

To define the nature of other jīva, he is first rejected as being a supreme entity. The jivas are unlimited in number (aparimitāḥ). One never sees lack of a multitude of jīvas, since from beginningless time they are released from the Lord during every mahākalpa. They are eternal (dhruvāḥ) according to the Vaiṣṇavas, since when they destroy their material bodies, coverings of ignorance, they attain spiritual bodies. But if these eternal unlimited jīvas were all pervading, they would not be under your control, being equal to you. They are otherwise (itaratha), not all pervading. Since the spark (yan-mayam) is not separate from the fire (tad avimucya), the fire is its controller (niyantṛ) since the spark is its aṁśa and small. Cit śakti has two types: supreme and ordinary. The supreme cit śakti resides in the Lord and by his mercy, a special portion of that resides in the associates in the spiritual world. The ordinary cit śakti resides in the jīvas, time and pradhāna. After mahāpralaya the jīvas endowed with ordinary cit śakti, like sparks of a fire, covered by beginningless ignorance, manifest from the Lord as Vāsudeva or Paramātmā, the form of great consciousness. They are controlled by the Lord. Kalpānāṁ jana-sāmye hi muktir naivopapadyate Kadācid api dharmajṣa tatra pṛcchāmi kāraṇam Ekaikasmin nare muktiṁ kalpe kalpe gate dvija Abhavisyaj jagac chūyaṁ kālasyāder abhavataḥ At the end of Brahmā’s life the jīvas should not attain liberation at all. O knower of dharma! I ask the reason. If the all jīvas attained liberation in each kalpa the universe would become empty and there would be no time. Viṣṇu-dharma Asked by Vajra, Mārkaṇḍeya answered. Jīva-sthānasya sargeṇa nare muktim upāgate Acintya’śaktir bhagavān jagat pūrayate sadā Brahmaṇā saha mucyante brahmalokam upāgatāḥ Sṛjyante ca mahākalpe tad vidhāś cāparā janāḥ Sarve jīvāḥ pramāṇāḥ syuḥ sarve kalpās tathā nṛpa When men are liberated in the created world where they reside, the Lord with his acintya-śakti fills it up. Those who attain Brahmaloka attain liberation with Brahmā. Other persons are created in the mahākalpa. All jīvas are measured out. This occurs in all kalpas, O king! It is said the jīvas are created. How can they be without beginning? The unlimited jīvas remain a special cavity of the Lord’s māya-śakti since the jīvas have piles of waiting karmas. Among them some manifest in a particular kalpa. That is called sarga. They are not created. These jīvas are small particles since śrutis describe them as the size of the tip of a spoke. Ahaṁ sūkṣmānāṁ apy aham jīva: of small things I am the jīva. (SB 11.16.11) bālāgra-śataśo bhāgaḥ kalpito yaḥ sahasra-dhā tasyāpi śataśo bhāgo jīva ity abhidhīyate If a tip of hair is divided into hundred piees and then each into a thousand, and then each piece is again divided into a hundred, that is the size of the jīva. Viṣṇu-dharmottara Though small particles they pervade the body by their consciousness. Just as a lamp spreads light in a room, the small jīva brings life to the body by its special influence of consciousness. By influence a magnet makes a piece of iron near it move. aṇu-mātro 'py ayaṁ jīvaḥ sva-dehaṁ vyāpya tiṣṭhati yathā vyāpya śarīrāṇi haricandana-vipruṣaḥ Just as a drop of sandalwood oil spreads throughout the body, the atomic jīva spreads throughout the body and remains there. Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa Though this is the general svarūpa of all jīvas, by the influence of bhakti, the svarūpa of the devotees, manifesting astonishing śakti, is very different. They experience the Lord since the Lord is attracted to bhakti alone. To others he is neutral. Some know the Lord as equal (samam) to the devotee and to others. Or since you are the controller of the jīvas you should see them equally. But this is wrong (amatam) because of contaminated knowledge (matasya). Or “Jīvas may be controlled but Śiva and others are equal to the Lord.” Some know them as equal, but that is wrong.